At 1-year mark for same sex marriage, Washington tallies over 7,000 weddings

Washington marks the one-year anniversary of legally recognized same-sex marriage on Friday. Officials say 7,071 gay couples had taken advantage of the right to marry as of Sept. 30, with 300 in Thurston County and 486 in Pierce County.

Washington marks the one-year anniversary of legally recognized same-sex marriages on Friday, and the Washington state Department of Health says more than 7,000 couples have wed under the new law. About a quarter of the marriages were unions involving both parties from out of state, making the state a bit of a magnet for such betrothals. DOH says 524 were from Oregon, 170 from Texas and 155 from California.

You can read more from the Department of Health here. The agency noted that from Dec. 6 to Sept. 30 the state had 42,408 marriages and that 7,071 were same-sex couples. September data is the most recent available, the agency says.

In Thurston County, 300 couples have wed under the law that Washington voters affirmed at the polls in November 2012. In Pierce County, 486 same-sex couples wed.

The state’s most populous county, King, had the 3,452 same-sex marriages – most in the state. Clark – located on the Oregon border – had the second most, 785. Ranked third was Pierce, followed by Snohomish with 330 and then Thurston.

Washington was one of three states to affirm or approve same-sex marriage in the 2012 election. In 2009, the state was the first to affirm the rights of same-sex couples at the ballot box - when voters approved a referendum on domestic partner rights.